She Needed Him. I Needed a Divorce

I checked myself out of the hospital the next morning.

At home, the broken vase was still scattered beside the coffee table.

I crouched down and picked up the pieces one at a time. My lower abdomen ached, forcing me to move slowly.

With the last shard in my hand, I stopped.

This was where I had collapsed the night before, frightened I might not wake up.

And I was still the one cleaning up afterward.

The lock clicked.

Luca came in wearing yesterday's shirt, shadows beneath his eyes.

I glanced up at him.

“Bianca's appointment ran late,” he said, setting down his keys. “I got her settled, then slept at the office for a few hours.”

I nodded. I didn't ask him anything.

Luca looked at the garbage bag in my hand.

“What actually happened last night?”

During our first year of marriage, I'd once woken with a fever and found Luca sitting beside me. He'd held the glass while I drank because my hands were shaking.

“Wake me next time,” he'd said. “You don't have to get through it alone.”

Last night, that was the man I'd thought I was calling.

“I needed you,” I said. “You were sure I was just jealous, and you hung up.”

His expression changed. To him, that settled it. Another unnecessary scene, another attempt to compete with Bianca.

“You need to be more independent, Elena. And a little more generous. Her father died keeping mine alive. I won't turn my back on her because you don't like the attention she gets.”

I watched him for a few seconds.

Then I smiled, just enough to end the conversation.

“All right.”

He looked surprised. I had clearly skipped the argument he was preparing to win.

He drew breath, but his phone chimed before he could speak.

He looked down immediately.

When he recorded his reply, his voice softened.

“Take the medication on schedule, even if the pain's better. Nothing too hot or spicy for a couple of days.”

He paused, then added, “I've pushed the meeting with the shipping partners back two days. Stay home and rest.”

Bianca, of course.

I lowered my eyes.

Apparently, independence was a lesson only his wife needed to learn.